Earth abundant iron pyrite (FeS2) nanostructured materials have been proposed in renewable energy applications, such as photovoltaics (PVs), energy storage batteries and photocatalysts. (See Ennaoui, A.; Tributsch, H., Iron sulfide solar-cells. Solar Cells 1984, 13 (2), 197-200; Choi, J.-W.; Cheruvally, G.; Ahn, H.-J.; Kim, K.-W.; Ahn, J.-H., Electrochemical characteristics of room temperature Li/FeS2 batteries with natural pyrite cathode. Journal of Power Sources 2006, 163 (1), 158-165; Kirkeminde, A.; Ren, S., Thermodynamic control of iron pyrite nanocrystal synthesis with high photoactivity and stability. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2013, 1 (1), 49-54; Puthussery, J.; Seefeld, S.; Berry, N.; Gibbs, M.; Law, M., Colloidal iron pyrite (FeS2) nanocrystal inks for thin-film photovoltaics. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133 (4), 716-9.) In addition, due to its high theoretical capacity (890 mAh/g) and low environmental impact, FeS2 is an attractive cathode material in Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB). (See Shao-Horn, Y.; Osmialowski, S.; Horn, Q. C., Nano-FeS2 for Commercial Li/FeS2 Primary Batteries. Journal of The Electrochemical Society 2002, 149 (11), A1499.) Regarding photovoltaic applications, iron pyrite is attractive due to its high photoabsorption coefficient (above 105 cm−1) and ideal light harvesting bandgap (0.95 eV). (See Puthussery, J.; Seefeld, S.; Berry, N.; Gibbs, M.; Law, M., Colloidal iron pyrite (FeS2) nanocrystal inks for thin-film photovoltaics. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133 (4), 716-9.) However, the efficiency of FeS2 PV devices has been extremely modest. (See Steinhagen, C.; Harvey, T. B.; Stolle, C. J.; Harris, J.; Korgel, B. A., Pyrite Nanocrystal Solar Cells: Promising, or Fool's Gold? The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2012, 3 (17), 2352-2356.) In particular, FeS2 is a semiconductor with low conductivity and high surface trap states. (See Birkholz, M.; Fiechter, S.; Hartmann, A.; Tributsch, H., Sulfur deficiency in iron pyrite (FeS2-x) and its consequences for band-structure models. Physical Review B 1991, 43 (14), 11926-11936.) In addition, synthesized colloidal FeS2 nanostructures are typically surrounded with a layer of long chain organic ligands (e.g., octadecylamine (ODA), oleic acid), which are usually one to several nanometers in length. (See Puthussery, J.; Seefeld, S.; Berry, N.; Gibbs, M.; Law, M., Colloidal iron pyrite (FeS2) nanocrystal inks for thin-film photovoltaics. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133 (4), 716-9; Gong, M. G.; Kirkeminde, A.; Ren, S. Q., Iron Pyrite (FeS2) Broad Spectral and Magnetically Responsive Photodetectors. DOI: 10.1002/adom.201200003, Advanced Optical Materials, 2012; Yuan, B.; Luan, W.; Tu, S. T., One-step synthesis of cubic FeS2 and flower-like FeSe2 particles by a solvothermal reduction process. Dalton transactions 2012, 41 (3), 772-6.) These organic ligands may be exchanged for shorter molecules such as ethanedithiol (EDT), resulting in a chain of about ˜0.5 nm in length. Each of these organic ligands may contribute to poor charge transfer and transport, electronic coupling and electrical contact during operation of the devices. Another reason for the limited conversion efficiency is the degradation of FeS2. For example, Tributsch et al. reported 2.8% efficiency for a FeS2 single crystal-aqueous photoelectrochemical cell. (See Ennaoui, A.; Fiechter, S.; Smestad, G.; Tributsch, H. In Preparation of iron disulfide and its use for solar energy conversion, First World Renewable Energy Congress, 1990: 1990; pp 458-464; Altermatt, P. P.; Kiesewetter, T.; Ellmer, K.; Tributsch, H., Specifying targets of future research in photovoltaic devices containing pyrite (FeS2) by numerical modelling. Solar Energy Materials & Solar cells 2002, 71, 181-195.) One of the main challenges in this device was the degradation of FeS2 in iodide/triiodide aqueous electrolyte. Furthermore, the instability of FeS2 is also related to the presence of surface states on FeS2 which can trap the photoexcited electrons. Ultimately, whether FeS2 is to be utilized in an energy harvesting or an energy storage device, the deficiencies of FeS2 have to be addressed and the devices are typically independently developed and optimized, due to the challenges in integrating these two functions.